Special Interests
The River Trails Park District offers numerous activities for youth and teens! Check out our current special interest class and Parkour Programs. Youth also enjoy our summer camps, dance and athletic programming.
Young Magicians
Join us for a fun night of magic and mystery! Magic tricks will be taught that include cards, coins, ropes, and much more! You will discover that the tricks are quick to learn and easy to perform. All materials are provided on site. Each child will receive a magic kit to take home at the end of class. Participants are grouped by age and learn age appropriate tricks. New tricks are taught at each session, so sign up again and again!
Note: These classes take place at Arlington Heights Park District.
Age: 5-12
Location: Arlington Heights Park District
| Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| Tue | 5-5:55pm | Jul 12 | $25/$30 |
Smart Start Art
Explore your artistic side with the Smart Art Program from Afterschool Enrichment Solutions. Discover your creativity and imagination as an artist, develop fine-motor skills, style, and vision as we explore different artistic techniques through a variety of inspiring projects and play fun, exciting games. Sketch and draw, shade and color, cut, glue, fold…Create! No experience necessary.
Grade: K – 4
| Location | Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| The Zone | Mon-Thu | 3:30-5pm | Jun 27-Jun 30 | $112/$132 |
Music Start
Learn to read music and play tunes! This fun program teaches young students the beginnings of music! Using specialized, proprietary MusicStart keyboards, students learn to play familiar tunes in a group setting by color, letter, and note matching while using problem-solving strategies—without sacrificing any important musical knowledge–we are not taking shortcuts to play and reading music. Prepare your student to take any instrument by giving them a solid musical foundation with this exciting program!
Grade: K – 4
Location: The Zone
| Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| Mon | 3:30-4:30pm | Jul 18-Aug 8 | $95/$113 |
SafeSitter Courses
Do you feel ready to stay home alone, watch your brothers and sisters while your parents are gone, or babysit for younger children? Safe Sitter® is for kids and young teens in grades 4–8 ready to learn the skills needed to care for themselves and younger children. Safe Sitter® also teaches young teens life and business skills to be prepared, responsible, and considerate whether they are babysitting or doing odd jobs for family, friends, or neighbors. You’ll have fun and learn a lot. At the end of the day, you can proudly say, “I am a Safe Sitter®!”
Safe@Home
Grade: 4-6
Location: Burning Bush Community Center
| Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| Sat | 10-11:30am | Jun 25 | $35/$42 |
Intro to Safe Babysitting
Grade: 6-8
Location: Burning Bush Community Center
| Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| Sat | 10-11:30am | Jul 9 | $35/$42 |
Minecraft Madness
Explore the world of Minecraft, one of the most popular video games in history. Let your imagination transform your Minecraft experience into a unique world YOU create! Students will discover how to expand their world possibilities using popular game-enhancing mods. Build traps, arrow launchers, faster rail systems, and participate in building challenges! Learn fundamentals of computer networking through this unique Minecraft experience that allows you and your friends to work in multiplayer mode as you mine, craft, and build together.
Ages: 7-12
Location: Non-District Facilities
| Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| Mon-Thu | 10-11:30am | Jun 13-16 | $112/$132 |
Game Exploration Week
Step into a week for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fun! Enjoy video game-based learning with game-making tools. Using a visual programming language, kids will learn about creativity, problemsolving, and strategies to make your own games. Stretch your imagination to design and build fun-filled, challenging games.
Ages: 8-12
Location: The Zone
| Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| Mon-Thu | 3-4:30pm | Jul 18-21 | $112/$132 |
Children’s Theatre
A weekly musical theatre workshop culminates in a showcase featuring age–appropriate excerpts from smash hit movies and musicals! Students will learn the basics of vocal technique, choreography, and acting while working together to produce an in– class performance for family and friends. Showcase classes are only six weeks long and are a great way for young artists to develop their talents, foster self–confidence, and grow in social skills and team building. The showcase will take place during the last 30 minutes of our final class.
Grade: K-6
Location: Burning Bush Community Center
SUMMER 2022 CLASSES
| Name | Day | Time | Date | Fee (R/NR) |
| Improve Olympics | Mon | 3:30-5pm | Jul 18 | $28/$34 |
| The Voice | Tue | 3:30-5pm | Jul 19 | $28/$34 |
| Starstruck | Wed | 3:30-5pm | Jul 20 | $28/$34 |
| Hip Hop Party | Thu | 3:30-5pm | Jul 21 | $28/$34 |
| Lights, Camera, Action | Fri | 3:30-5pm | Jul 22 | $28/$34 |
Summer Class Descriptions
Monday, July 18
Improve Olympics: We will compete in a series of improv games that are sure to keep the campers on their toes! Everyone will work on an original skit that will be performed at the end of the day. Costumes will help tobring the skit and the campers imagination to life!
Tuesday, July 19
The Voice: Do you want to be a contender? Each camper will have the chance to be a contestant. They will choose from songs to perform, learn choreography, and create skits. The rest of the group will be judges. Watch out for top competition – all just for fun!
Wednesday, July 20
Starstruck: The camp group will get to choose a theme for the day (rockstar, princess, superhero, etc…). Create an original mini musical and explore the world of play by cultivating curiosity through theatre. Of course props and costumes will help make the show extra special!
Thursday, July 21
Hip Hop Party: Come learn new dance moves in a fun, high-energy setting tage appropriate music. There will be a chance to work on improv skills as the group creates and learns new moves. See you on the dance floor!
Friday, July 22
Lights, Camera, Action: The campers will learn audition techniques, character creation, and write their very own commercial. The commercial will be filmed to learn the different kinds of camera shots used for commercials. Come build your on-camera confidence!
